Fate's Choice: Livestream at the Start Summoning Billions of Ravens

The camera zooms in, revealing the top of the famous white steps of the Lincoln Memorial.

A man in a simple blue robe, his long hair casually tied up with a jade hairpin, carried a gleaming three-foot-long sword in his hand and had a wine gourd hanging at his waist.

He was looking up at the huge seated Lincoln statue above him with great interest, his eyes glazed over, as if he were in a drunken stupor.

That's Saber, Li Bai.

Beside him stood an elderly man with white hair and beard, dressed in an ancient Taoist robe, his hands behind his back, his robe fluttering even without wind.

Master, Zhang Ruoxu.

The gaze follows the steps downwards, ending at the famous reflecting pool, in front of the World War II Memorial Square.

A wheelchair sat alone on the empty marble floor.

Archer Franklin Roosevelt, wearing a dark gray woolen overcoat and with a wool blanket covering his legs, calmly gazed at the visitors from the East from hundreds of meters away with his wise and deep eyes.

Instead of the usual tense atmosphere, the former President America revealed her signature, very approachable smile.

Behind his wheelchair stood a fully armed man.

Captain Evan Cross wore a state-of-the-art tactical exoskeleton, his tactical vest was covered with magazines and high-explosive grenades, his face was painted with camouflage paint, and his eyes were cold.

Outside, on the "New World Pioneers Forum," the betting odds for this battle were refreshed instantly.

[Second Battle: Saber Li Bai VS Archer Roosevelt]

Real-time odds fluctuations: Roosevelt to 1.8, Li Bai to 2.5.

Newton's seemingly illogical victory has instilled in everyone a kind of blind superstition about Western heroes.

"Roosevelt was the man who led America to victory in World War II. How could they lose with the Flying Dragons charging in?"

"Am I the only one who thinks that American captain is dangerous? He looks at people like they're dead."

The discussion on the forum had just begun when the deathly silence on the battlefield was broken.

"A friend has come from afar."

Roosevelt's voice wasn't loud, but through some kind of magical loop, it resonated clearly throughout the National Mall, carrying a kind of magic that made people involuntarily want to listen and believe.

"Unfortunately, there is no fine wine here, only cold laws and order."

As he finished speaking, the previously calm air around him suddenly became hot and humid.

Inherent skill activated – [Fireside Conversation].

This is not a flame in the physical sense, but a personification of the "hope" and "belief" contained in Roosevelt's words.

Countless golden flames appeared out of thin air around him; they were warm and steadfast, yet carried a heat intense enough to scorch the spirit.

"Go."

Roosevelt waved gently.

boom--!

The golden flames, as if responding to the leader's call, transformed into a mighty fire dragon, soaring above the reflecting pool and roaring towards the two people at the top of the steps.

Faced with this overwhelming offensive, Li Bai simply chuckled and tilted his head back to gulp down a mouthful of wine.

"The wine is still warm, so how can there be no wine?"

"choke--!"

The longsword was drawn, and the roar of a dragon arose.

Li Bai did not move, but with a slight flick of his wrist, a blue sword light splashed out, as if an ink painting was unfolding before him.

"Having accomplished his task, he dusted off his clothes and departed, concealing his identity and name."

As the poem was recited, the azure sword energy seemed to acquire a certain concept of "concealment" and "dissolution".

The mighty golden fire dragon crashed into the sword net, but it was like a mud ox entering the sea; there was no violent explosion. Instead, it was silently dismembered and devoured, eventually dissipating into specks of starlight.

Round 1, a draw.

However, just when everyone thought that the two sides would conduct several more rounds of probing, a sudden change occurred.

Evan Cross, who had been standing behind Roosevelt, made a move.

If you blink, you definitely won't be able to see his movements clearly. It's a kind of muscle memory honed through countless hours of practice, so fast that it's blurry!

Raise the gun, lock on, pull the trigger—all in one fluid motion!

The gun barrel instantly locked onto Zhang Ruoxu, who was hundreds of meters away.

Not only Servants must fight, Masters must fight too!

This is the logic of modern warfare—decapitation!

"Bang!"

A muffled gunshot rang out, its sharp sound amplified by the silencer, making it particularly jarring in the empty square.

It was a special armor-piercing projectile, and with the magical enhancement brought by the Archer class, its initial velocity reached a terrifying three times the speed of sound.

Before even a sound could reach him, the bullet had already crossed space and was aimed straight at Zhang Ruoxu's brow.

At this moment, viewers around the world felt their scalp tingle.

The screen was instantly flooded with comments:

"Holy crap! American-style iaido!"

"My lord, times have changed!"

"This is unethical! They're just sniping their Master?"

That's America's style! She doesn't care about any otherworldly airs or江湖 (jianghu) rules; as long as she can win, magic or 5.56mm bullets are both acceptable methods!

"when--!"

A clear, metallic clang rang out.

There was no scene of brains splattering as I had imagined.

Just three meters from Zhang Ruoxu's brow, the bullet, powerful enough to pierce light armor, seemed to have struck an invisible wall.

The warhead spun violently in the air, squeezed, and deformed before finally crashing to the ground with a sharp crack.

Zhang Ruoxu remained standing with his hands behind his back, not even lifting his eyelids.

Before him, a pale golden shield of light composed of Bagua runes flashed by and then disappeared into nothingness.

The Taoist Golden Light Mantra.

The entire internet was silent for a second, then erupted in complete uproar:

"This is cultivation!"

"You talk to him about science, he talks to you about metaphysics!"

"Newton's coffin lid had barely been closed when Zhang Ruoxu flipped it open again!"

Zhang Ruoxu looked down at Evan, shook his head slightly, and said in a calm tone as if he were reprimanding an ignorant junior, "The layman has too much hostility in his heart."

Evan Cross remained expressionless, showing no sign of panic despite missing his first shot.

He jerked the bolt back sharply, skillfully pulled a cylindrical object from his tactical vest with his left hand, removed the safety, and with the flair of an Olympic javelin champion, hurled it up the steps.

It was a high-explosive flashbang.

Moreover, it was a stun grenade enhanced with magic.

The metal cylinder exploded in mid-air above Li Bai and Zhang Ruoxu's heads.

"boom--!!!"

A blinding white light instantly engulfed the entire foyer of the Lincoln Memorial, accompanied by a terrifying high-frequency noise powerful enough to shatter eardrums.

If it were an ordinary person, they would completely lose their fighting ability in that instant and become a lamb to the slaughter.

But Zhang Ruoxu merely frowned slightly and uttered a single syllable:

"quiet."

A cool ripple spread out from him, and the Taoist calming mantra instantly neutralized most of the sensory impact.

However, although vision and hearing have been restored, the crisis has not been resolved.

Taking advantage of the momentary chaos, Evan Cross had already rushed up the steps like a cheetah.

The exoskeleton armor emitted a deep hum driven by magic, allowing him to unleash speeds beyond human limits.

He had switched the rifle in his hand to melee mode, and with his other hand he drew a pitch-black tactical dagger, the blade gleaming with a faint blue light.

That was a dagger enchanted with the "Tear" attribute.

"die!"

Evan let out a low growl and thrust the dagger straight into Zhang Ruoxu's heart. The movement was simple, ruthless, and devoid of any fancy moves; it was purely a killing technique.

Zhang Ruoxu changed his footing and slid half a step to the side and back like a ghost.

Taoist footwork involves stepping on the Seven Stars.

The sharp dagger grazed his Taoist robe, slicing through the air with a shrill sound.

"That's interesting. Want to try mixed doubles?"

Seeing this, Li Bai wanted to return his sword to provide support, but Roosevelt below clearly wouldn't give him that chance.

"If you don't want to listen to me, then watch my actions."

Roosevelt slammed his hands on the armrests of his wheelchair.

Inherent skill activated – [100-Day New Policy].